Top 10 Stoner Movies Ever Made

Watching movies that have a strong relation to weed is a fun thing to do. All you need is time, a stable internet connection, and the usual supplies in case you encounter problems with munchies. If you’re not very familiar with stoner movies, this selection might help you to get a quick overview. Movie experts can check if they partly agree with this Top 10 selection, or not. Enjoy your journey, discovering these classical and modern stoner movies.

10. Kid Cannabis (2014)

This movie starts very promising, by building up suspense around the interesting topic of drug trafficking in the US. Weed consumption is displayed in a rather realistic way. Unfortunately, this movie has problems to be consistent in quality, especially towards the end. The way the story ends is realistic, but not nearly as exciting when compared to the first half of the movie.

The story is pretty much the secret dream of every teenage stoner. An eighteen year old high school drop out decides to make large amounts of money by trafficking weed across the border from Canada, to the United States. He does an excellent job and things work out pretty well, in the beginning.

9. Our Idiot Brother (2011)

Our Idiot Brother is a film about a guy called Ned. He has such a positive attitude towards life that most people would consider him an idiot. This movie can be inspiring as well as entertaining. It’s not a laugh-out-loud comedy but has a lot of silly moments in it. Paul Rudd, along with other known actors like Zooey Deschanel, create a warm and loving atmosphere around a family that has to deal with an overly nice and idealistic family member.

Ned sells his homegrown organic vegetables at the farmers market. From time to time, he also gives away a little weed under the counter to make ends meet. One day, a uniformed cop showed up, telling him he’s having a bad day and wants to buy some bud. Ned sells it to him. This is the kind of guy he is. After spending some time in prison, being “model prisoner” four months in a row, he stays with his three sisters who have to deal with his refreshingly positive attitude towards life and other people.

8. Clerks (1994)

The movie Clerks is especially charming because the main characters have regular jobs, just like everybody. This movie creates an atmosphere you get at a gas station or convenience shops, where the cashier is extremely unhelpful and grumpy.

Dante (Brian O-Halloran) is a 22-year old college dropout and clerk at a convenience shop. He has the ability to make the best out of his underpaid job, by skillfully combining social life and work. His friend Randal (Jeff Anderson) works in the video shop next door. Together, they have deep philosophical discussion about movies and various other topics: “When Darth Vader's second Death Star was destroyed, it was still under construction, so doesn't that mean a lot of innocent workers were killed?”

7. Friday (1995)

Friday is a stoner comedy starring rap artist Ice Cube. According to the New York Times, this movie “offers a fascinating glimpse at the way street life enters pop culture”. This movie tries to replace the violence of street culture, like glorification of murder and gun use, with humour. The moral message of this film is that real men use their fists, not guns.

The story takes place on a working-class street in Los Angeles. It’s a typical Friday. Craig (Ice Cube) just lost his job and is confronted with different characters of his family. His best friend Smokey (Chris Tucker) is the ultimate pothead and constantly smokes. They have the problem that Smokey owes $200 to the drug dealer, Big Worm. Craig and Smokey spend their day together, creatively getting the money to pay Smokey’s depts.

6. Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978)

This is a classic of cannabis movie. Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke is rebellious, anti-establishment and full of high-class comedy scenes. It is very likely that future generations of stoners will give this film a chance. Up in Smoke has a road-trip character, along with a lot pot smoking, and sophisticated stoner humour.

Cheech Marin picks up Tommy Chong at the side of the road, somewhere in California. What follows, is one of the funniest car scenes in the history of weed movies. They decided to light up a giant joint, hotbox the entire car, and soon encounter problems with the cops. They get deported to Mexico but find a way back by driving a very unique van across the border. Back in the US, they meet two female hitchhikers who join the group. They always seem to narrowly escape from risky situations with local law enforcement agencies.

5. Half Baked (1998)

Half Baked has high potential to satisfy its viewer. It didn’t rank higher in this selection because competition was very tough. The movie creates a warmth atmosphere around the wonderful friendship of the three stoner buddies: Scarface, Brian and Thurgood. They live and smoke together, in New York City, until a wild series of events around a dead police horse changes their lives.

Dave Chappele slips into the role of Thurgood Jenkins. He considers himself to be a master of the custodial arts, or a janitor, “if you wanna be a dick about it.” Brian, a kindergarten teacher, accidentally kills a police horse by trying to be the good guy, giving it some junk food he just bought to battle munchies. The horse is a diabetic and collapses. “Officer down, I repeat, Officer down”. Brian accidentally became a “cop killer” and has to go to prison. Thurgood and Scarface come up with a plan to rescue to bust him out.

4. Dazed and Confused (1993)

The atmosphere in this movie is full of substance abuse. Dazed and Confused critically reflects the development of young personalities, attending high school in a small Texan town. It’s a nice contrast to stereotypical teenage movies. The different characters and groups in this movie are close to reality. This movie can be seen as a thoughtful analysis of teenage society, drawing an unromantic picture of youthful desperation, fears and joyful moments.

It’s the last day of high school in a small Texan town in 1976: Peer pressure, together with teenage carelessness, leads to excessive behaviour among a young group of scholars. They drive around town, drink beer and smoke pot, and hang out. All of them find their individual way of coping with the troubles teenagers have to deal with. The ones, who are the most excited about male-bonding rituals, like overly excessive drinking and humiliating initiation rituals, are usually the most troubled. The fear of not fitting in, secretly feeling as outsiders, leads to physical abuse of students who really doesn't fit the mediocrity of the crowd.

3. How High (2001)

You haven’t seen How High? This is not acceptable. Go deep into yourself and think about what went wrong with your life. How High caricatures college stereotypes, as well as the modern education system. The main characters, Silas (Method Man) and Jamal (Red Man), are a nice contrast to the arrogant leader of the rowing team, Bart.

Silas and Jamal found a way to cheat on their admission tests for college and managed to get a scholarship at the University of Harvard. Both of them have a radical attitude when it comes to studying and tests: “I figure if I study high, take the test high, get high scores! Right?“ They soon encounter problems with their grades and have to find creative ways to not kicked out of the system. Of course, there is the smart Asian kid: “Hey, I'm down with you! You east-coast? I Far-east Coast!“.

2. The Harold & Kumar Trilogy (2004-2011)

If you like it original, then the first movie, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (2004) is your best option. The movie is an odyssey of two stoner buddies who want to end their craving for White Caste burgers. One of the best scenes is right at the beginning. They both leave the apartment, being high, on their way to get this burger. Kumar forgot his cell phone. They both turn around and look at the entrance door of their apartment. It literally is a few steps away. Harold asks Kumar if he wants to go back to get his cell phone. Kumar replies: “No, we've gone too far.” Stoner comedy at its best!

Do you prefer a decent amount of sickness and political incorrectness in your stoner movies? Try the second one, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008). The movie is humorous, yet draws attention to violations of human rights in Guantanamo Bay. They have to be very creative too leave this inhumane place. Starring George W. Bush and high-quality work of homeland security!

The third one, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011), is ideal when you want a nice and cosy Christmas atmosphere, along with weed smoking and an outstanding guest performance by Neil Patrick Harris.

1. The Big Lebowski (1998)

This is it. This movie made it all the way to the top of this selection. The Big Lebowski deserves to be ranked No.1 for being the best stoner movie there is. This movie is about “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges) and his gun-loving buddy Walter Sobchak. If one movie out of this selection is a must-see, than it’s probably this one.

The Dude, or Jeff Lebowski, is the most relaxed guy on planet earth. The narrator refers to him as “the laziest man in Los Angeles County”. The Dude likes to bowl, chill in his bathtub smoking herb, and his favourite drink, white Russian. The film opens when two enforcers of a Porn King mistake “The Dude” for “The Big Lebowski“ who seemingly has to settle some financial issues with someone. These two gangsters are not the brightest and it’s already too late when they found out that they have the wrong guy. They urinated on The Dude’s rug. This is a problem that needs to be settled! According to The Dude “The rug really tied the room together”. This is how a genius story, and an excellent stoner movie, begins.